Rafael Nadal took another step toward taking over the world number one ranking on Wednesday at the 2013 China Open with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Philipp Kohlschreiber to advance to the quarterfinals. The current world number two could return to the top spot for the first time since July 2011 if he reaches the final…
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic got off to a good start on Tuesday at the 2013 China Open, needing less than an hour to oust Lukas Rosol 6-0, 6-3 to advance to round number two. Djokovic now holds an impressive 15-0 record at the China Open, having won the title in 2009, 2010…
World number one Serena Williams defeated Francesca Schiavone at the 2013 China Open in Beijing on Tuesday, to advance to the third round of the event, 6-4, 7-5. However, sister Venus was not able to piggyback off a successful run at last week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, falling on Tuesday to the 13th-seeded Sabine Lisicki,…
Andrea Petkovic defeated world number two Victoria Azarenka in the first round of the China Open on Monday, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. In 2011, Petkovic advanced to the finals of the China Open, but could only secure the runner-up spot, falling to eventual winner Agnieszka Radwanska. Next up for Petkovic in round two is Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kuznetsova, a…
Petra Kvitova defeated Angelique Kerber 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 on Sunday for her second WTA title of the year at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan. With the win, Kvitova rises in the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings, from 11th to number seven. Kvitova now has 11 WTA titles in her career and is now 11-4 lifetime in…
Canada’s Milos Raonic defeated the top-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6(4), 6-3 at the Thailand Open on Sunday. Raonic hit 18 aces to beat Berdych in the finals en route to his fifth career title. Raonic upped his lifetime record over Berdych to 2-0 after also beating him in the Cincinnati Masters last year. Raonic is now just 180 points…
Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova will meet in the finals of the 2013 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, after Kvitova defeated Venus Williams 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2) and Kerber was a 6-4, 7-6(5) winner over the fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. The number seven-seeded Kvitova ended a nice run by Venus, as the two put on a serving display, each…
Venus Williams reached the semifinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan on Thursday after her 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3 win in three-plus hours over Canadian Eugenie Bouchard. Venus and Bouchard had comparable unforced errors in the match, 35 for Williams and 34 for Bouchard, but their winners told the story—Venus had 43 in the match, Bouchard…
ATP Men’s Singles number one Novak Djokovic announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristic on Wednesday via Facebook. Djokovic posted, "Getting used to introducing Jelena as my fiancé and future wife 🙂 So happy!” along with a photo of Ristic kissing him on the cheek. He then took to Twitter, posting, “Meet my fiancé and…
Venus Williams was an upset winner over the top-seeded Victoria Azarenka in her opening match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday, 6-2, 6-4. Venus had won two of the pair’s previous meetings, those were both before her illness and injury struggles of the last few years. On Tuesday, Venus won 75 percent of…